DUS basketball player Brittney Griner, released in a prisoner exchange with Russia, trained on Sunday for the first time in ten months. The two-time Olympic champion completed a quick training session at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, her advisor Lindsay Kagawa Colas told ESPN. However, it is not yet clear whether Griner will continue her career. “She has no pressure,” said Colas.
According to her agent, the player currently has no intention of leaving the military base where she has been staying with her wife Cherelle since arriving in the United States. “At this time there is no timetable for her return,” added Colas. She said Griner is “in the process of reintegrating into a world that has changed for her.”
Exchanged for Arms Dealer
From a “purely safety point of view” she will not be able to move around the world like she used to. “It’s not fate she asked for, but I think she’ll try to use her fame for good,” Colas said.
The basketball player was exchanged last Thursday at Abu Dhabi airport for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had previously been released from US custody. After arriving in the United States on Friday morning, the 32-year-old was taken to a military base to undergo medical checks. She has not made any public statements since her release.
Meanwhile, Griner’s wife Cherelle thanked all supporters. “Taking care of another, a stranger to one, a friend to another — that’s humanity at its purest!” Griner wrote on Instagram. In addition to the US government, she listed many names, including three congressmen and actress Whoopi Goldberg. “All families deserve to be united,” Griner continued.
Brittney Griner was arrested on arrival at a Moscow airport in February. Cartridges for e-cigarettes with small amounts of cannabis oil were found in her luggage, which she was construed as a criminal offence.
